Hangers for suspended ceiling structures

ABSTRACT

A rigid portion is adapted to be mounted to the side of a joist such that the lower end of the portion extends a short distance below the lower edge of the joist. A helical, tension spring is fastened between the upper part of the rigid portion and the upper edge of a main runner of the supporting grid. The spring urges the upper edge of the main runner upwardly against the lower edge of the rigid portion, but the grid can be pulled downwardly to allow ceiling panels to be tipped for installation or for removal.

United States Patent [191 Starks Jam-21,1975

[ HANGERS FOR SUSPENDED CEILING STRUCTURES [76] Inventor: Charles V. Starks, 3217 18th Ave.,

Rock Island, 111. 61201 [22] Filed: May 4, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 357,257

[52] US. Cl 52/484, 52/489, 248/317, 248/327, 52/495, 52/474 [51] Int. Cl E04b 5/54 [58] Field of Search 52/484, 485, 486, 488, 52/346, 489; 248/330 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1934 Barge 52/346 3/1966 Kreuzer 52/484 X 12/1968 Jackson 52/485 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Norway 52/484 1/1967 France i. 52/346 Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Assistant ExaminerCarl D. Friedman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Henderson & Str om 57] ABSTRACT A rigid portion is adapted to be mounted to the side of a joist such that the lower end of the portion extends a short distance below the lower'edge of the joist. A

helical, tension spring is fastened between the upper part of the rigid portion and the upper edge of a main runner of the supporting grid. The spring urges the upper edge of the main runner upwardly against the lower edge of the rigid portion, but the grid can be pulled downwardly to allow ceiling panels to be tipped for installation or for removal.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Belgium 52/484 HANGERS FOR SUSPENDED CEILING STRUCTURES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The supporting grid of a typical suspended ceiling network comprises parallel main runners and equally spaced cross tees between the runners. The main runners are T-shaped in cross section and have vertical slots centered in the vertical portions; the cross tees have tabs projecting from the ends thereof to fit in the slots. The grid for supporting the ceiling panels is supported at a fixed distance below floor joists by hangers fastened between the joists and the vertical portions of the runners of the grid. The ceiling panels are installed by tilting them to place them above the grid, and then they are dropped into place between the main runners and the cross tees. The panels must also be tilted before they can be removed. The ceiling hangers must be long enough to support the grid at a sufficient distance, typically three inches, below the lower edges of the joists to permit the panels to be tilted enough for installation or for removal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Each hanger comprises a piece of rigid sheet material to be fastened to a joist with its lower end extending a short predetermined distance below the joist and a tension, helical spring to be fastened between the upper portion of the rigid piece and the upper edge of a main runner. The springs of the respective hangers urge the main runners upwardly to cause the upper edges of the main runners to bear against the lower edges of the mounted rigid pieces. The installed panels are then supported only about 1 inch below the lower edges of the joists. When the panels are to be installed or to be removed, a portion of the grid is pulled downwardly against the tension of the springs to permit sufficient room between the grid and the joists to tilt the panels. This feature for mounting ceiling panels close to the floor joists is necessary for installation in basements where the distance between the floor of the basement and the joists above is barely sufficient for installation of a ceiling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a floor and ceiling showing the hangers of this invention supporting a grid of a suspended ceiling;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a hanger mounted on a floor joist; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, oblique view of a hanger at the edge of the ceiling fastened to the header at the perimeter of a basement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, a basement ceiling having panels 11 is suspended from joists 12 that support subflooring 13 of a first floor. The ceiling panels 11 are supported by conventional grids for suspended ceilings, the grid comprising parallel main runners 14 perpendicular to the joists 12 and cross tees 24 positioned between the runners. The conventional cross tees 24, not shown in detail, are typically members having a T-shaped cross section and having ends with tabs that can be placed in slots 15, such as represented in FIG. 3, through the vertical portion of the main runners.

A hanger 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a main portion of rigid sheet material or mounting plate 17 and a tension, helical spring 22. The upper portion of the plate 17 is rectangular and has central holes for receiving nails 18 and 19 used to secure the hanger to the side ofajoist 12. The lower end 20 of the mounting plate 17 extends below the bottom edge of the joist l2 and serves as a stop for leveling the main runners 14 of the supporting grid for the ceiling panels 11. The upper end of the spring 22 is formed to hook under the head of the nail 18 that secures the mounting plate 17 to a joist, and the lower end of the spring has a hook that is placed through a hole 23 through the upper edge of the main runner 14 at a point directly below the lower end 20 of the mounting plate 17.

The height of each of the plates 17 of the hangers 16 on the joist 12 is such that the main runners 14 are level when the springs 22 of the hangers l6 urge the central, upper edges of the main runners 14 upwardly against the lower ends 20 of the mounting plates 17. Preferably, the lower end 20 of each of the mounting plates 17 has a notch 21 (FIG. 2) for receiving the upper edge of the vertical portion of a main runner 14.

The wall runners 25 of the grid, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, have a right-angle cross section and form the perimeter of the grid for supporting the ceiling panels 11. A hanger to be attached to a wall runner has a rectangular mounting plate 26, and a tab 27 near the lower end of the plate 26 protrudes outwardly and downwardly from its surface opposite that adjacent the wall. A tension spring 28 extends between a nail 29 that fastens the mounting plate 26 to a box sill or header 31 through a hole 30 in the upper edge of the wall runner 25. The upper edge of the wall runner 25 is placed under the tab 27, and the spring 28 urges the wall runner 25 upwardly to provide support for ceiling panels 1 l.

The lower ends 20 of the mounting plates 17 and the tabs 27 of the mounting plates 26 can be placed at such a height that the ceiling panels 11 are supported only about one inch from the bottom edges of the joists 12. When a ceiling panel 11 is to be removed, fingers can be placed over the lower edges of the runners l4 and the grid is pulled downwardly by stretching the springs 22 and 28. A portion of the grid is thereby pulled downwardly far enough below the lower edges of the joists 12 to permit a ceiling panel 11 supported by that'portion to be tilted sufficiently for it to be removed. Likewise, the grid can be pulled downwardly to permit installation of a ceiling panel 11. Since tabs (not shown) of cross tees 24 fit rather loosely in the slots 15 of the main runners 14, the grid for supporting the ceiling panels 11 is somewhat flexible to permit only a portion of the ceiling to be lowered a short distance for remov-' ing or for installing ceiling panels 11.

I claim:

1. A ceiling construction comprising:

a piece of sheet material having an upper portion and a lower end, said upper portion being fastened against the side of a floor joist, and said lower end having-a short distance of extension below the bottom of the joist;

a tension spring affixed at one end to said upper portion on the side of said piece of sheet material opposite the side adjacent to the floor joist, said tension spring being secured at its other end to the upper edge of an angular runner, said runner supporting ceiling panels thereon; said spring urging the angular runner to which it is fastened upwardly to position the upper edge of the angular runner against said lower end of said piece of sheet material, said short distance of extension being only so large as to allow said lower end to hold the angular runner suspended no further than one inch below the bottom of the joist whereby the ceiling panels are supported close to the floor joist; said spring being stretchable to allow manual depression of the angular runner to a distance of three inches from the bottom of the floor joist thereby enabling replacement of ceiling panels.

2. A ceiling construction as claimed in claim 1 having a notch formed across said lower end of said sheet material to locate the upper edge of the runner to which said tension spring is fastened.

4. A ceiling construction as claimed in claim 2 wherein said lower end has rounded edges on each side of said notch, said notch being shallow and centrally located in said lower end, said distance of extension of said lower end being at least great enough to allow the deepest point of said notch to be level with the bottom of the joist thereby allowing positioning of the angular runner when the upper edge of the angular runner is even with the bottom of the floor joist.

* l =l l 

1. A ceiling construction comprising: a piece of sheet material having an upper portion and a lower end, said upper portion being fastened against the side of a floor joist, and said lower end having a short distance of extension below the bottom of the joist; a tension spring affixed at one end to said upper portion on the side of said piece of sheet material opposite the side adjacent to the floor joist, said tension spring being secured at its other end to the upper edge of an angular runner, said runner supporting ceiling panels thereon; said spring urging the angular runner to which it is fastened upwardly to position the upper edge of the angular runner against said lower end of said piece of sheet material, said short distance of extension being only so large as to allow said lower end to hold the angular runner suspended no further than one inch below the bottom of the joist whereby the ceiling panels are supported close to the floor joist; said spring being stretchable to allow manual depression of the angular runner to a distance of three inches from the bottom of the floor joist thereby enabling replacement of ceiling panels.
 2. A ceiling construction as claimed in claim 1 having a notch formed across said lower end of said sheet material to locate the upper edge of the runner to which said tension spring is fastened.
 3. A ceiling construction as claimed in claim 1 having a tab extending outwardly and downwardly from the lower portion of its face opposite the mounting surface of said ceiling hanger, said tab being adapted to engage the upper edge of an angular runner to which said spring is fastened, and said spring urging the angular runner to which it is fastened upwardly to position its upper edge under said tab.
 4. A ceiling construction as claimed in claim 2 wherein said lower end has rounded edges on each side of said notch, said notch being shallow and centrally located in said lower end, said distance of extension of said lower end being at least great enough to allow the deepest point of said notch to be level with the bottom of the joist thereby allowing positioning of the angular runner when the upper edge of the angular runner is even with the bottom of the floor joist. 